Education

The University of South Australia’s School of Education has a long and respected history of producing first class graduates and leaders within education. The School covers every level of education from early childhood through to adult education and is one of the largest in Australia.

This program is designed for educators and professionals working in a variety of roles in education, training and development (early childhood to adult) who want to develop their knowledge and capabilities across the following areas:

• Assessment and Evaluation
• Educational Leadership
• Inclusive Education
• Digital Technologies
• Literacy Education
• Numeracy Education

This program provides students with the opportunity to explore a wide-range of educational debates and issues relevant to their professional practice and to interact with others studying and researching in similar settings. Our diverse range of courses and our online delivery arrangements are designed to meet student interests and needs and to develop their leadership capacity in their educational setting. 

Throughout the program, students will develop an advanced understanding and points of interest in their core and elective coursework components for application in the research component of the program. Students will also focus on current theories, research, debates and practices in a range of education fields, levels (early childhood to adult) and sectors.

Courses are available externally via online study. Additionally, some courses deliver an on-campus intensive component to support online learning and assessment in the course.

Graduates of the Master of Education degree will have a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in theories, research, debates and practices to improve quality of professional experience and student learning outcomes across a range of educational settings. Graduates will have knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to leadership and innovation in selected topics of interest.

The students will complete 54 units of study. Students select either the Education Project pathway or the Education Thesis pathway. The Education Project pathway comprises 9 units of core courses, 27 units of elective courses and 18 units of research courses. The Education Thesis pathway comprises 9 units of core courses, 9 units of elective courses and 36 units of research courses.

An Educational Leadership stream is available to students with at least five years of professional experience as an educator and assigned to a recognised leadership role in an educational setting. The Educational Leadership stream will comprise 36 units in total, with 18 units of credit awarded for professional experience. The Educational Leadership stream can only be taken as part of the Education Project Pathway and will comprise 18 units of educational leadership courses and 18 units of research courses.

Applicants will normally hold an approved Bachelor degree in Education or equivalent qualification from an approved tertiary institution.

Applicants who have completed a four-year Bachelor degree in Education and 2 years of teaching experience, or a four-year Bachelor degree in any discipline with studies in educational methodology and curriculum (equivalent to 18 units) and 2 years of teaching experience, or a Graduate Diploma in Education, or a Master of Teaching, are eligible to enter the program with 0.5 EFTSL Advanced Standing and complete the program in 1 year of full-time study or equivalent part-time study.

Each year, more than 2,500 students at the University of South Australia benefit from scholarships and grants worth millions of dollars. We welcome high achieving students from developing countries who are supported by the Australian government program, Australia Awards. We also host around 500 students who are sponsored by their home government, university or employer.